Tuna Tales to TellChris Hall | First Published: July 2006

Tuna have been somewhat elusive for most, although depths between 80 and 120m are still rich with krill, bait and feeding birds.

Anglers have seen numerous tuna in the water, but only the odd one has been caught. Guru Bob McPherson and myself had 12 tuna strikes on a recent trip. We caught four southern bluefin to 26kg while fishing near the Shelf area. There were no signs of tuna when, all of a sudden, they just came out of nowhere.

For those boaties not fishing for tuna, there have been some class fish coming from 60 to 80m of water, between Lawrence Rock and the Cape Nelson lighthouse. Consistent catches of gummy shark, school shark, morwong, queen morwong, knifejaw, snapper to 5kg and coral perch have been appearing at the cleaning tables.

Although winter has set in, those persisting have still managed to come home with a good feed of fresh fish. Using fresh bait and fishing for at least two hours on the top of the tide have been two ingredients for success.

Other fishermen in the Lawrence Rock and the North Shore areas have targeted snook and lithe with good results.

Locals Tim Clark and Chris Bond targeted sweep recently and caught a good bag of these fine eating fish from the Cape Nelson area. Whiting have also been caught in the traditional whiting area off the golf course.

Lee Breakwall

Land-based anglers fishing the breakwall have managed some good gummy sharks, snapper and the odd whiting. Calamari have also been caught by those targeting them.

Terry Benson caught a beautiful 4.5kg snapper, just to show that not all of them have headed out into deeper water. Terry has caught three nice ones over the last couple of months.

Inside the harbour, the marina is keeping young anglers happy with catches of calamari, snapper and whiting. In the canal, black bream and mullet have been most abundant.

Off the trawler wharf, pinkies and whiting have been on the bite. Haddock have not really shown up around the harbour, but let’s hope they do soon because they’re a lot of fun.

For all your latest fishing and weather updates give the boys at Portland Bait & Tackle a call on (03) 5523 5213 or (03) 5523 1225. We’re open 7 days a week from 7am to 7pm at our new location, 111 Bentinck St, Portland. Our new outboard mechanic is also available, for all your service needs and repairs.